Are GURPS Tech Books released in wrong order / badly planned?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Been there, done that. One of the annoying examples from the recent playtest discussion/explanation:

Heh. I've always wanted to figure out how to do an orbital mechanics sim that would show current and future position of all objects (some sort of curve or line of dots), so you get an intercept course by arranging for your ship's dot in some future turn to correspond to the right target dot, but not sure how you make something like that into a readable display.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Heh. I've always wanted to figure out how to do an orbital mechanics sim that would show current and future position of all objects (some sort of curve or line of dots), so you get an intercept course by arranging for your ship's dot in some future turn to correspond to the right target dot, but not sure how you make something like that into a readable display.

Hmm. Maybe allow the user to view their total maneuvering envelope for any given future turn? Though if you're dealing with non-uniform gravitation or some such calculating what that envelope is might be tricky.

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Heh. I've always wanted to figure out how to do an orbital mechanics sim that would show current and future position of all objects (some sort of curve or line of dots), so you get an intercept course by arranging for your ship's dot in some future turn to correspond to the right target dot, but not sure how you make something like that into a readable display.

Check out Kerbal Space Program (a video game about a space program, from rocket design to launch to orbital intercepts and docking/creation of space stations and more). It's got a pretty decent method for showing current and future positions of all objects - exactly a curve, including position indicators for when objects will be close to each other/etc.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Langy

Check out Kerbal Space Program (a video game about a space program, from rocket design to launch to orbital intercepts and docking/creation of space stations and more). It's got a pretty decent method for showing current and future positions of all objects - exactly a curve, including position indicators for when objects will be close to each other/etc.

You mean it isn't just about blowing up three little hapless cartoons? There must have been some developments since I last took a peek.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Heh. I've always wanted to figure out how to do an orbital mechanics sim that would show current and future position of all objects (some sort of curve or line of dots), so you get an intercept course by arranging for your ship's dot in some future turn to correspond to the right target dot, but not sure how you make something like that into a readable display.

Everything has a little arrow sprouting from it, pointing to its ballistic position in +n time units. n can be adjustable with a thumbwheel perhaps, and you can dress up the arrows by graduating them in color, so you can make sure that you don't intercept some object while touching your arrow tip to the subject's. This works for projectile weapons as well, per its use in John Varley's story, "Equinoctial".

[Tomsdad]

I think the problem UT has (if it has an overall problem) is that the scope and scale of the subject matter is far larger than HT & LT. So yes maybe it fails to achieve its goals as successfully as the other two, but then it's goals were a lot harder.

I like the idea of UTC's especially as it would seem to fit in with taking certain aspects of technology and drawing them through TL9-12 (and corresponding super science lens as well).

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Tomsdad

I think the problem UT has (if it has an overall problem) is that the scope and scale of the subject matter is far larger than HT & LT. So yes maybe it fails to achieve its goals as successfully as the other two, but then it's goals were a lot harder.

Yeah, it made LT and HT considerably more straightforward that they were restricted to one possible reality, and that (as Ken Hite put it) the best-researched and best play-tested of all. The brief for UT and BT notionally covered a very wide range of different and incompatible projections of future technology, that were not only built of unobtainium and nonsensium to different extents but of different kinds.

I like the idea of UTC's especially as it would seem to fit in with taking certain aspects of technology and drawing them through TL9-12 (and corresponding super science lens as well).

Another way of organising it might be to take different flavours of SF, sci-fi, and science fantasy and give a treatment of all technology in each one.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

Everything has a little arrow sprouting from it, pointing to its ballistic position in +n time units. n can be adjustable with a thumbwheel perhaps, and you can dress up the arrows by graduating them in color, so you can make sure that you don't intercept some object while touching your arrow tip to the subject's. This works for projectile weapons as well, per its use in John Varley's story, "Equinoctial".

I suppose drawing actual trajectories instead of arrows is reasonable, particularly since you're calculating them anyway. You can probably indicate the n of a point by colour, though that will of course interfere with being able to use colour to differentiate various objects.

[sayke]

Originally Posted by DemiBenson

(Thread necromancy, of a sort)


I am quite keen on the idea of a series of Ultra-Tech Companion books. I think I've mentioned that elsewhere.

I started writing what was to be a Pyramid article for the Future Exploration article many moons ago, but it was headed for "too long for a magazine article" territory. It included setting design switches like "If contragrav exists, here's how that affects societies and tech. If it only works for big vehicles, then X; if it only works for small vehicles, then Y." And the same for reactionless thrusters and FTL. Plus notes for gritty hard science and space opera (and everything in between) and how the Tech Paths affects settings.

I'm also quite interested in writing the UTC Cyberware book, and considering the positive feedback on the Pyramid 51 Tech and Toys 3, I should talk to whomever to see about actually making that happen.

I think this approach is bloody fantastic. I'm much more interested in a reference plumbing the implications of specific technologies, or sets of specific related technologies, then in a general all-encompassing speculation about Magic or The Future (which work out to be pretty much the same thing...).